


In This Together: Letters Home

by joudama



Series: In This Together [7]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-08
Updated: 2011-03-08
Packaged: 2017-10-16 19:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joudama/pseuds/joudama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, he promised he'd write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In This Together: Letters Home

\--

Dear Momma,

How are you? I hope things are going well. I'm not very good at this letter-  
writing thing, but I promised I'd write, and I will.

Me and Genesis are doing OK. Gen's got his nose stuck in a book, so I figured  
this was a good time to at least start on a letter.

The trip has been interesting so far. Gen got himself a fire materia a week or  
so ago, and has only burned one guy's eyebrows off (he deserved it) and hasn't  
set anything on fire yet. (I have a Cure materia because I figured better safe  
than sorry. Gen called me a wuss, but I told him I'd remember that if he set is  
hair on fire or something). We decided to take our time, since Gen wants to  
learn how to use that Fire materia and I figure it'd probably be a good idea to  
not be near any populated areas until he does. And we kind of want to see  
everything outside of Banora.

I know you're from Midgar, so maybe its boring, but we've never been anywhere  
but Banora, so this is all really new to me and Gen. There are a whole lot of  
monsters out here. So far, they haven't been a problem, and Gen's happy because  
he's getting a lot of practice with that materia. We've gotten quite a bit of gil  
from selling the relatively unburnt monster bits (I'll try to send you some money  
after we get to Midgar. At this rate, it should be OK).

...I keep the Cure equipped all the time, just in case.

Take Care,  
Angeal

\--

Dear Momma,

How are you doing? Sorry I didn't get to talk to you long when I called,  
but you wouldn't believe the lines for the phones in basic training. I heard  
that if you make SOLDIER and get high enough in, they give you your  
own PHS (regs say you can't have one unless ShinRa issues you one. I  
don't get it), and that's reason enough to hurry up and get into SOLDIER.  
If I never have to wait in the phone line again, it'll be too soon. It's probably  
just going to be letters for a while.

Once we get through basic training, we'll find out if we're eligible for  
SOLIDER. Testing for it seems pretty rigorous, but Gen says we shouldn't  
have a problem. You know Gen, so you can figure out how he put all that.  
I have no idea how that guy manages to always make so many friends even  
though he spends the majority of his time either insulting everything or  
ignoring it as not worth his time. 'Asshole charm', I guess (and don't tell him  
I said that). It works on me, after all.

Oh, and one of the other weird regs is that you can only speak Standard.  
You can't even use dialect on your off time. Some guys already got busted for  
speaking Costan when they were on break. ShinRa's really strict with it,  
too. The guys that got caught got KP duty and loss of privileges, so they  
can't leave the training camp to go into Midgar at all or use the company  
phones for three weeks. Hopefully, just slipping up with a word or two  
might be OK.

Boot camp isn't so bad. It's no fun, not by any stretch of the imagination,  
but I figure all the monster-killing me and Gen did on the way out here really  
helped us. We seem to be doing a lot better than all the other recruits, and by  
pretty big margins. I think Gen's right when he says we probably won't have  
any problems getting into SOLDIER, since everyone else is saying we're  
shoo-ins. I'm just going to wait and see.

And Gen just threw a paper ball at my head, so I think he wants something.  
This letter is starting to get pretty long anyway, so I'll just go ahead and end  
it here. Take care, and hopefully I'll be able to come out and visit soon.

Oh, and I'm including the leftover money from all the monster hunting I did  
before I got to Midgar. We get our first paycheck soon, so I'm fine.

Love,  
Angeal

\--

Dear Momma,

We're in!

We met the doctor in charge of us in the SOLDIER project, and I've never  
seen Gen get so wide-eyed before. It was the doctor who came to Banora  
all those years ago, when I was sick. I didn't recognize him at first, but  
Gen knew who he was as soon as he saw him. I still don't really remember  
him at all, and he seemed kind of disappointed by that for some reason. I  
felt bad that I didn't remember him at all, but Gen smacked me and told me  
I'd nearly died and Dr. Hollander only showed up when everyone else had  
written me off as a goner, and I hadn't been awake for most of when Dr.  
Hollander was there. And I guess he's right, but I still feel guilty, especially  
if he did save my life.

I guess maybe that's why he's in charge of us, and not Professor Hojo, like  
most of the SOLDIER program. He won't say why he's in charge, he just  
says we're a special case, and we're lucky not to have to deal with Hojo.

He seems OK, if a bit strange, but "a bit strange" seems to sum up everything  
at ShinRa. I just wish he wouldn't smile at me so much. It's weird.

And I'm sorry this is a short letter. I've got to get some sleep soon, since  
I've got to be up at five in the morning, and if I don't mail this before I  
report in, only the gods know when I'll be able to, since we're slated to  
start our mako treatments tomorrow, and we'll be pretty out of commission  
until they're done.

Oh, and Dr. Hollander said to tell you he sends his regards.

Love,  
Angeal

\--

Momma,

I don't have much time to write. This is a really quick letter, and I'm  
mailing it in the next ten minutes. They gave me thirty minutes to get my  
gear ready since I'm shipping out to Wutai now that the treatments are over.  
So sorry this is so short.

The mako treatments were like the Kindly Ones' own torment, and I am  
glad they're over. But I've got shiny eyes now and am a lot stronger and faster.  
It's kind of amazing, and I can't wait to see what I can do out there in Wutai.  
I do wish we'd had more training time, but the program is still so new there's  
not much in place yet. Basic plus the VR training will hopefully have been  
enough.

Oh, and they're splitting me and Gen up for some reason. He's going to the  
northern part of Wutai, and I'm being sent to the south.

Gen did not explode (much, and it was more fuming than twitching temper-  
bomb), so that was a blessing.

And I've got to go. I'll write again as soon as I can. I love you, and take care.

Love,  
Angeal

\--

Dear Momma,

It's been a while since I wrote. I'm sorry about that, but things have been  
pretty rough for a while. Plus, I was in Wutai until about a week ago, so I  
didn't know if a letter would get through, since mail delivery from Wutai  
is pretty hit-or-miss, and not just because of ShinRa having problems, but  
because anything with a ShinRa logo on it is fair game for the Wutai. We're  
having troubles just getting supplies in, and I've been on escort duty for  
new squads more than once. Mail and shipping is actually a big target,  
since we've been sending so much materia out for the scientists in Midgar  
to study. The Wutai are trying to keep us from shipping it, or the damned  
weeds they use to poison us, out, and so mail and shipping trucks and planes  
get targeted. We've been told not to write letters that much, just because  
they can't guarantee them. I'd wonder about that, since they're so strict  
on all kinds of communication (I'm still stuck with the public lines for  
the phones, which is why I haven't been able to at least call, either. They're  
even spottier than the mail), except I've seen the Wutai bomb the daylights  
out of our trucks.

A lot's happened since the last letter. Gen's in Wutai, too, but a different  
part. I haven't heard from him in a while. Hopefully, he's OK. I'm one more  
promotion away from getting my Official ShinRa PHS, thank the gods, and by  
then I should be able to get a hold of him. I'm just going to tell myself no  
news is good news. He took one of his books with him, and Gen's always  
happy as long as he has a book to stick his nose in, and it's not like Gen ever  
hurts for company, as sociable as he is. Still, the sooner I can hear from him,  
the happier I'll be. He's my best friend, and I miss him. I miss you, too, and I  
am sorry I couldn't get in contact with you sooner. I'll brave the phone lines  
soon and try to call you or something.

Speaking of friends, I met Sephiroth while I was in Wutai a few months ago. We  
were assigned to the same group going in to the southern part of Wutai. It's been  
tough fighting out here. The Yamatan Wutai are pretty fierce. Most of the ninjas  
are from down there, and they're big on suicide missions. It's crazy. But it's  
also way too effective. If one of their suiciders gets in the right position, it can  
do a terrifying amount of damage. Sephiroth and I are OK, since we're SOLDIERs,  
but some of the regular troopers don't fare so well.

Like I was saying, I met Sephiroth down here. He seemed so stiff when I first  
met him, but a couple missions out, and he loosened up, some. But there's  
nothing like suiciders and explosions for bonding experiences. That, and the  
common ground of the mess food tasting like a science lab experiment gone  
wrong. Sephiroth assures me that even Professor Hojo's flan experiments weren't  
as gloppy as whatever it was they tried to serve us last night, even though he  
says its a pretty near thing.

Sephiroth is...I don't quite know, but he and Genesis are an awful lot alike.  
Which is funny, because they're about as different as two people can be, aside  
from both of them being too pretty for their own good (and c'mon, you know  
Gen is too pretty; he had half the town wrapped around his itty bitty finger and  
the other half wanted to smack him. And the funny thing with Sephiroth is, I  
don't think he has any idea what he looks like to other people, and seeing how  
Gen is, I don't get at all how he grew up looking like he does and not being a  
spoiled brat. ...Don't tell Gen I said that. I like breathing.)

Anyway, Sephiroth is really quiet, like he's always thinking. You can't tell  
what's going on in that head of his. He's hard to get to know, like he doesn't  
quite know how to deal with people. He's great at fighting, but not so good with  
other human interactions. But he has got a wicked sense of humor (just look at the  
Hojo flan thing), once you get in past that armor he's got.

I guess that's why he reminds me of Gen. Both of them, armor half a meter thick.  
And they both get that same surprised look when you make them laugh, like they  
weren't expecting it. Sephiroth doesn't laugh the way Gen does--I swear,  
sometimes I thought Gen was gonna rupture something--but I don't think he's ever  
laughed much, which is a shame. He cracks a smile and seems so surprised by it,  
and just blinks for a second. Momma, he's more serious than me, and even I know  
how bad that is. I don't think the guy has ever had friends.

Guess I better do something about that, huh? It took years of Gen to mellow me  
out, though, so only the gods know what Sephiroth would need. I'm thinking  
alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

Take care, and I'll write you soon.

Love,  
Angeal

\--

Dear Momma,

Gen and Sephiroth met today, and it was a disaster. I don't have any other  
words for it. I'm writing you because right now, I'm trying to avoid the  
both of them, especially Gen.

I'm actually kind of worried about Gen. Sephiroth and I ended up working  
with each other a lot, but Genesis was by himself, and he apparently spent  
way too much time with Loveless. I'm not sure how to explain it or even  
what I'm trying to say. But...the war can make you crazy, Momma. I tried  
not to really talk about all the bad things over here, things I've seen...I couldn't.  
I wrote you when I needed some normalcy. I wrote you so many letters that  
never got sent, just to keep myself from cracking up some days at all of it.  
I had letters to you, and Sephiroth to talk to, but Gen didn't have anything but  
that poem. And Gen was out in Wutai a lot longer than me. He's been in  
Gwongnaam because he's being doing a good job stomping down the  
resistance out there, but the problem is, war's...well, it's war. It's hard on  
even the most stable people, and Gen's Gen. He's high-strung, and with as  
hard as the fighting in Yamato and Chochung have been on me, I can only  
imagine what it's been like on Gen to be in a place where it's so intense he's  
barely been able to deploy back to Midgar to decompress. I talk to him when  
I can, now that I've finally got a PHS, but most of the time, he's alone, and it's  
hard. He's says he's fine, and the war and the fighting are no big deal, but I  
don't know.

It was because of the way Gen was starting to get weird that I really wanted  
him and Sephiroth to meet. Gen's looked up to Sephiroth for a long time,  
(and Sephiroth had said he wanted to meet Gen, with all the running off at  
the mouth I did about him, even though he was nicer about how he put it),  
and I figured maybe it'd be good for Gen to have someone else to talk to who  
understands what it's like out there. We're finally all in Midgar at the same  
time, so I figured now was a good time to do it. It was Gen's first day back,  
so I figured the three of us going out for dinner far, far from the ShinRa mess  
would be a good way for them to get to know each other.

I goofed up and how. Maybe because they're so much alike but also really,  
really different. And it doesn't help that Sephiroth is really aloof. It took  
me a long time to get him to warm up some. Gen is used to people  
falling all over themselves to get his attention, and Sephiroth is just not  
that kind of person. He comes off as cold, and you know how Gen is  
with people like that. And Sephiroth has his quirks you have to get used  
to, but Gen took all of them badly. Sephiroth has this way of looking at  
someone like they're a bug sometimes, and Gen's eye was twitching.  
Sephiroth's also not really used to someone like Gen, that much was  
obvious. Genesis is used to being the center of attention, but in a good  
way, and is also kind of an attention whore (don't tell him I said that), and  
Sephiroth just isn't used to that kind of person. So Gen got the bug-stare  
one too many times, maybe, and to things most normal people find amusing  
or endearing. So Sephiroth got that irritated glare Gen is so good at, and  
that got more bug-stare, and it was all downhill from there. I think the low  
point was when Gen broke his glass because his hand twitched too hard, and  
then Sephiroth just raised his eyebrow and smirked and, oh Minerva. I don't  
want to think about it any more. It was bad.

But past the surface bit and how opposite they seem, they're so much alike,  
that I'm honestly surprised how Gen reacted to him, especially since Gen's  
wanted to meet Sephiroth for so long. Well, they met, and Gen has been  
fuming about what an asshole Sephiroth is, and I have no idea why things  
crashed and burned. Other than the bug-stare and the glaring and Sephiroth  
needs to learn that smirk of his can be as bad as fighting words.

Still...I think they just got off on the wrong foot, and hopefully a few more  
meetings will get them back on track. It takes Sephiroth a long time to warm  
up to people, is all, and if there's anybody who is good at getting people to  
warm up to them, it's Gen. But I'm thinking next time there needs to be a lot of  
alcohol involved in this. Maybe getting the two of them drunk together  
will work better. Alcohol or sparring. But definitely not food. Restaurants  
are out for a while, if for no other reason than replacing all the broken glasses  
and bent cutlery, plus the cleaning bills (don't ask; sweet Faunus Pan, I'm  
trying to blank it out) would start to get expensive.

Sephiroth needs friends, and Gen needs...well, he's Gen, he has people  
around him all the time, but it's not like he has friends. I will somehow  
get the two of them to give it another go. I like the both of them, and want  
them to get along, for my sanity's sake if nothing else. I think they just  
rubbed each other the wrong way (Sephiroth is pretty serious and glares a  
lot, and the frowning glare of his sort of reminded me of Mr. Rhapsodos at one  
point, and if I thought that, Gen had to, and that's just a bad foot right there,  
even if it is the way Sephiroth looks when he's trying to figure out something,  
and I really don't think Sephiroth has ever been around anyone like Genesis  
before, just going by the bits and pieces I've gotten out of him. Did you know  
he grew up in Hojo's lab? And seeing how strange Professor Hojo seems to  
be, a lot of why Sephiroth seems so unused to people makes sense, and tells  
me the guy needs more human interaction. It's weird, but I really think I'm the  
first friend he's ever had, and that's just got to change) and once they get to  
know each other, they'll get along really well. I just have to try a little harder.

Wish me luck and maybe send me some apple ale to smooth the way.

Angeal

PS - Speaking of Mr. Rhapsodos, has Gen written his family once since we  
got here? I ask him, but you know him--he changes the subject or flat-out  
ignores things. Let me know, and if he hasn't, I'll make him write them so  
they at least know he's not dead in a Wutai ditch somewhere.

-A

\--

Dear Mother and Father,

Angeal is making me write this. He threatened to sit on me if I didn't write you  
or something to let you know I was still alive, and since the jerk has put on  
about 15 kilo of muscle in the last couple of years, I can't take the risk.

Don't worry, you needn't write me back. I think we would all prefer if you didn't.

As you can see, I'm alive. I've been promoted again to Class 1st, one of only three,  
me, Angeal, and Sephiroth, and am leading my own battalion, and will soon be  
redeployed back to Wutai. Pretty good for someone who couldn't 'stand up for  
himself' eh? I've even got a fan club now, so it looks like we all know what people  
think of me now.

I'll also be sure to send you a copy of the literary review magazine that's going  
to publish something I wrote on 'Loveless' while I was deployed so you can show  
it off to people. All that time with my "nose stuck in a book" seems to have  
worked out quite well for me.

So I'm fine. Life is great. Don't expect to see me anytime soon.

Genesis

PS. I'm still sucking his cock, Dad. Mmm, cock.  
-your son <3


End file.
